Computer-system designers implement a firmware resource on computer-system designs that, in a pre-boot environment, initializes a computer system. This firmware resource is known as a basic input output system (BIOS) and may provide services (for instance, simple network connectivity, display output, keyboard input and/or disk drive operation) to a computer system prior to executing an operating-system boot process. The BIOS is generally stored on a non-volatile memory device, such as a flash memory, that is designed or integrated into most computer systems. BIOS may test hardware at start up, start the operating system and support the transfer of data among hardware devices. Conventionally, BIOS is stored in a read only memory (ROM) so that it can be executed when a processor-based system is turned on. For applications running in an operating system, the ability to leverage BIOS system services is limited by what is exposed by the underlying operating system.